It has been a tumultuous – and traumatic – off-season for Liverpool with the defending champions having to come to terms with the death of Diogo Jota.
The loss of the Portugal forward will be felt for some time and will understandably cast a shadow over the club’s defence of the Premier League crown they won so impressively last season.
It is asking a lot of a group of players still grieving the loss of their friend to find the motivation to repeat last year’s successes when the game must appear trivial.
Performances in pre-season have been mixed, perhaps due to muddled minds and perhaps due to the number of new faces brought in by boss Arne Slot.
The Dutchman has been ruthless in reshaping his squad, showing little sentiment to the likes of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Jarell Quansah, who all played a part last season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure for Real Madrid was unavoidable given the player’s wish to challenge himself in Spain.
So, what of Liverpool’s new signings?
As Jamie Carragher eluded to last week, the Reds’ approach in the market appears a little confused.
Newcastle’s Alexander Isak is clearly still a target and with the player desperate for the move, it seems inevitable that the Swede will end the transfer window as a Liverpool player.
Should that be the case then the signing of Hugo Ekitike for an initial £69million would be an extravagance with the money better spent on solidifying a defence that has looked uncertain in pre-season. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez are fine players and will settle in time but question marks continue to circle around the previously imperious Virgil van Dijk.
Should Isak move to Merseyside, it could mean Liverpool break the British transfer record twice in one window after capturing Florian Wirtz for a fee that could rise to £116m.
The Germany international will thrive in Liverpool’s possession-heavy team and will provide the creative spark that can only bring the usual return from the prolific Mohamed Salah.
What else might change this season?
As good a player as Wirtz is, his arrival may prompt a slight tweak tactically.
In Slot’s 4-2-3-1 formation last season, Dominik Szobozslai was often the highest player forward, running beyond the opposition’s defence, partly to create space behind him for the likes of Salah.
It is unlikely Wirtz will do that, perhaps placing more emphasis on Ekitike, assuming he starts the season in the number nine role, to play facing the goal and refrain from coming deep.
Having two new full-backs is another interesting dynamic. And while Kerkez is almost a clone of Andy Robertson with his bombing runs down the left flank, Frimpong is not remotely similar to Alexander-Arnold.
The England man used to drift into midfield, enabling him to display his passing variety, and only occasionally overlapped Salah. Frimpong will not do that. At Bayer Leverkusen, he used to get to the byline and pull crosses back, unlike Alexander-Arnold, whose deliveries regularly came from further back.
It may well be their attacking statistics come the end of the season look similar but they will be achieved in different ways.
Where will they finish?
Liverpool are overwhelming favourites to go back-to-back and it’s not difficult to understand why. They have brought in good players and Slot’s appetite for success will not be sated by last season.
But the competition will be stronger this year. Arsenal have finally signed a number nine, Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph shows they will be a threat while it is hard to imagine Manchester City will be as mediocre as they were in 2024-25.
We think the mental toil of the past few months, added to the little tactical tweaks that could take some time to implement, may mean Liverpool aren’t as dominant as many are predicting.
It is set to be a fascinating title race this year and don’t be surprised if Liverpool just fall short.
